CONTEXT
Post-Daesh Iraq is a country slowly trying to return to normalcy. There are still large numbers of people trying to return to their homes. The entire society is riven with conflict, trauma and sectarian divisions. Paying the highest price for all this are women and children. Weak state institutions are challenged daily by the many militias, affiliated with regional powers, that control infrastructure, checkpoints, as well as actual portions of territory. The Iraqi mosaic, from an element of millennial wealth, has sadly turned into a struggle for supremacy. Iraqi youth have been taking to the streets for years, demanding an end to sectarianism, corruption, and the dominance of arms. And organized civil society is constantly engaged in the long and complex work of rebuilding social ties and peacebuilding.

PROJECT
Preventing the eruption of conflicts and violence, transforming their causes, and finding solutions based on dialogue through strengthening civil societies: this is the goal with which the Catalan organization Novact (International Institute for Nonviolent Action) has in recent years created a number of Observatories for the Prevention of Violent Extremism (OPEV) in different countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

The collaboration between Un Ponte Per, Novact, and local organizations Laong and Pfo, will lead to the creation of an Observatory in Iraq as well (OPEV-Iraq), through the work of a coordinating committee that will be responsible for evaluation, programming and monitoring from a technical-administrative point of view, and the creation of thematic groups for research, training and practical methodology.

OPEV-Iraq's work will focus specifically on the Syrian refugee population in Iraq, the internally displaced Iraqi population, and Iraqi and Kurdish host communities.

Through analytical work, research, publication, and training activities in Iraqi Kurdistan, OPEV-Iraq will develop a plan for the prevention of violent extremism in Iraq for submission to local, national, regional, and international institutions, conducting networking with the United Nations and the European Union. Exchanges of best practices and coordination between OPEV-Iraq and the other Observatories in Jordan and Catalonia through seminar activities will make it more effective.

The ultimate goal will be to encourage the active participation of civil societies in the development of public policies in the field of peacebuilding, conflict resolution and management of refugee populations, with a focus on youth and women. This will counter the spread of hate speech and promote social cohesion.

During 2021, thanks to the second phase of the project, many activities planned for the previous year and suspended due to the pandemic will be carried out. Specifically, with a special focus on Syrian refugee people in the Sulaymaniyah area of the Arbat district, awareness-raising activities on gender-based violence and inter-community conflict management and mediation will be promoted. These activities are organized in the Sulaymaniyah Community Center and will include radio programs, awareness campaigns on nonviolent conflict management and sports as a tool to counter violence, educational, artistic and sports activities, and awareness sessions on Covid-19. A total of 8,160 people will be involved.

UPP IN IRAQ
Un Ponte Per (A Bridge To...) begins its story in Iraq back in 1991, alongside and in support of the civilian population who were victims of the Gulf War. Following the post-war emergency, it organizes the campaign to treat Iraqi boys and girls suffering from serious diseases in Italy, initiates school twinning between Italian and Iraqi schools, and launches campaigns to denounce and violate the embargo on the Iraqi population. After the 2003 war, following the burning and looting of the National Library and Historical Archives in Baghdad, Un Ponte Per set off with the program "The House of Books" to renovate its premises, restore manuscripts and train library staff. A commitment that continues to this day with the defense of minority cultural heritage and the preservation of Iraqi archaeological, cultural and environmental sites (such as the "Save the Tigris" water defense campaign). UPP has also been supporting Iraqi activists since 2004, out of whose synergy the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative was born in 2009. At the outbreak of the war in Syria, UPP became involved in Iraq in the work of welcoming and providing psychosocial support to the many people seeking refuge in the country. It is at the forefront of the humanitarian emergency caused by Daesh's (Islamic State) conquest of large portions of Iraq and the ensuing civil war. After the expulsion of Daesh from Iraq, Un Ponte Per inaugurated in the Nineveh Plain its "Peace Workshops," centers where Iraqi youths can engage in sports activities, attend trainings, and socialize with people from different ethnic/religious groups. UPP consistently carries out work to protect and access reproductive health for women and girls. Its peacebuilding work and support for war victims continues till today.